10,000 Aftershocks Reported After Italian Earthquake
A top expert said on Monday that scientists have detected 10,000 aftershocks since last week’s earthquake in Italy, warning that the tremors may soon become more intense, the AFP reported.
At least 1,000 of the aftershocks could be felt on the ground and Enzo Boschi, head of the National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology, told ANSA news agency they have not ruled out even more slightly stronger aftershocks to come.
“It’s even probable that there will be tremors above 3.0 on the Richter scale,” he added.
Boschi said around 1,000 aftershocks (2.5 or more on the Richter scale) had been felt in the central Italy region since last Monday’s quake that resulted in the deaths 294 people.
On Saturday, the Italian space agency reported that the earth in the region of L’Aquila, the central Italian town hit by the major earthquake on Monday had shifted by six inches.
Experts there compared interferogram satellite radar images taken before and after the quake from the same angle that show movement on the earth with artificially colored edges, each of which corresponds to a shift of 15 millimeters.
The agency said on its website: "The zone affected by the biggest shifts shows around 10 edges, or a displacement of the earth of around 15 centimeters."
The quake decimated large parts of the Abruzzo region and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.
It was measured at 5.8 on the Richter scale, experts reported.
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